Threshers Recap – 7/29/2019

Box Score Recap

DJ Jefferson made his professional debut.  He threw a scoreless, 1-2-3 inning against the other Phillies GCL team.  Jefferson was a non-drafted free agent signed out of Desert Oasis High School this summer.  He exhibited a strong arm today.  The father of one of our other HS pitchers commented that the ball comes out of Jefferson’s hand so smooth.

The strike out came on a 92 mph fastball.

Clearwater (19-21, 55-51)  no game scheduled.

Lehigh Valley (51-54)  lost to Pawtucket, 11-7.

Seth McGarry pitched three innings and gave up 3 runs (2 ER) on 3 hits and 2 walks.  He struck out three.  Tyler Gilbert pitched two, one-hit, scoreless innings.  And, then …

Austin Davis got one out and gave up 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk.  Fernando Salas came in and stranded 2 inherited runners.  But, he gave up 4 runs on 4 hits and a walk in 1.2 innings.  Kyle Dohy pitched two scoreless innings, giving up 2 hits and a walk.  He struck out four.

The IronPigs scored 5 runs in the second inning on Malquin Canelo’s 2-run double and Phil Gosselin’s 3-run HR (7).  They scored 2 in the sixth on Ali Castillo’s RBI double and Andrew Romine’s RBI single.

Lehigh amassed 17 hits.  Four guys had 3 hits each – Gosselin, Castillo, Robinson, and McBride.  Romine and Listi had 2 hits each.

Reading (24-16, 63-45)  lost to Bowie, 4-2.

Connor Seabold pitched four innings.  He gave up one run on 5 hits and 2 walks.  he struck out six.  Garrett Cleavinger pitched two, 2-hit, shutout innings.  He walked two and struck out four.  Jonathan Hennigan pitched 1.1 innings, giving up 3 runs (2 ER) on 4 hits and a walk.  Jake Hernandez stranded 2 of 3 inherited runners and struck out two in 0.2 innings.

Reading scored single runs in the third and fourth innings on Henri Lartigue’s solo HR (6) and Jose Gomez’ RBI single.

Lartigue had w2 of the Phil’s 6 hits.

Lakewood (16-20, 45-61)  beat Greenville, 7-6 in ten innings.

Jhordany Mezquita pitched four innings and gave up 4 runs (3 ER) on 4 hits and 2 walks.  He struck out four.  Dominic Pipkin went four innings and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk.  He struck out two.  Albertus Barber pitched two perfect innings and got the win.

Lakewood came from behind 3 times to tie before finally pulling out the win.  They scored a run in the third inning on Carlos De La Cruz’ RBI single.  They scored 3 runs in the fourth on Jonathan Guzman’s RBI double and Rafael Marchan’s 2-run double.  They tied the game one last time with 2 runs in the eighth on McCarthy Tatum’s 2-run double.  And, they walked off in the tenth on Ben Pelletier’s RBI single.

The BlueClaws collected 13 hits, at least one by every batter.  Guzman, Tatum, and Pelletier had 2 hits each.  Luis Garcia went 2-5.

Williamsport (14-28)  no game scheduled.

GCL Phillies East (13-10)  beat GCL Phillies West (15-10), 5-1.

Real tight game until a slew of errors in the eighth inning allowed 4 unearned runs to score.

West pitchers –

  • Brandon Ramey – 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K, HBP, FB 88-91
  • Aidan Anderson – 2.1 IP, 3 K, 1 inherited runner stranded, FB 89-91
  • Connor Hinchliffe – 1.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 0 ER, FB mid 80s
  • Nicoly Pina – 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 WP, 202 inherited runners scored, FB 92-95

East pitchers –

  • Victor Vargas – 4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 K FB 88-90
  • DJ Jefferson – 1.0 IP, 1 K, FB 90-92
  • Brendan Bell – 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K, FB 91-92
  • Tyler Adams – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K,FB 91-93
  • Jose Ulloa – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K, FB 92-94

The East scored first on rehabbing Ben Aklinski’s HR in the second inning off Ramey.  The West tied the score in the sixth on Andrick Nava’s RBI single.

The East went ahead in the eighth.  Hinchliffe was on the mound and gave up a seeing-eye, ground ball single through the 3-4 hole to Jose Tortolero.  A cavalcade of errors followed.  Wilfredo Flores bunted for sacrifice back to Hinchliffe who made an errant throw to first.  Brayan Gonzalez bunted for sacrifice and first baseman Rixon Wingrove charged so aggressively that he fielded the ball in front of home plate (instead of letting the catcher field the ball) and after looking at third made an errant throw to first.  The batter had the first baseman screened (legally) and a run scored and the other runners moved into scoring position.  Marcus Lee Sang reached on a ball bobbled by Edgar Made as another run scored.  Vito Friscia flew out to deep right center and both runners moved up a base. Nicoly Pina was brought in and wild pitched home a run on his first pitch.  He wild pitched home a second run on ball four to Curtis Mead.  Then he kind of settled down and went strike out, single, strike out.

Both teams combined for 13 hits.  West’s Luis Rojas was the only batter to have multiple hits, going 3-4.

DSL Phillies Red (32-12)  beat the Twins, 4-3.

DSL Phillies White (28-21)  lost to the Cardinals Red, 3-2.

Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.

The rosters and lists are up to date as of July 29th … there are 398 players in the org

Today’s Transactions (newest transactions in bold text)
7/29/19 – Lehigh Valley IronPigs activated LF Jose Pirela
7/29/19 – Reading Fightin Phils activated C Nerluis Martinez from the 7-day IL
7/29/19 – Phillies trade C Austin Bossart to the Mets for LHP Jason Vargas and cash considerations
7/29/19 – RHP Yacksel Rios designated for assignment by the Phillies
7/29/19 – Clearwater sent OF Ben Aklinski on a rehab assignment to GCL East
7/29/19 – LHP Jhordany Mezquita assigned to Lakewood from Williamsport
7/29/19 – LHP Taylor Lehman assigned to Williamsport from Lakewood
7/29/19 – RHP DJ Jefferson assigned to GCL East
7/28/19 – Phillies optioned LHP Cole Irvin to Lehigh Valley
7/28/19 – Phillies recalled RHP Edgar Garcia from Lehigh Valley
7/28/19 – Jose Taveras activated by Lehigh Valley
7/28/19 – RHP Julian Garcia assigned to Reading from Clearwater
7/27/19 – Manuel Silva assigned to Williamsport from Lakedwood
7/27/19 – Phillies transferred RHP Tommy Hunter from the 10- to the 60-day IL, forearm strain
7/27/19 – San Diego traded LF Jose Pirela to Phillies for cash
7/27/19 – LF Jose Pirela assigned to Lehigh Valley
7/27/19 – Lehigh Valley placed OF Jan Hernandez on the 7-day IL
7/27/19 – Reading placed LF Cornelius Randolph on the 7-day IL
7/27/19 – Clearwater sent OF Ben Aklinski on a rehab assignment to GCL West
7/27/19 – RHP Tom Sutera assigned to Lakewood from Williamsport

81 thoughts on “Threshers Recap – 7/29/2019”

  1. Philly.com said the Phils picked up Jason Vargas for practically nothing. I’d like to state that Bossart is not nothing. He’s a very good receiver who has shown a good bat. I think he could be a good backup catcher in the show. The Phils are loaded with good catchers right now so he became expendable but he’s certainly not nothing. Good luck to you Austin.

    1. Pretty sure writers for Philly.com have only basic knowledge of the minor league system and the players. I agree that Bossart has a chance to carve out a nice career as a 2nd catcher..

      1. Pure coincidence I am sure….but to Bossart’s advantage…..Bradley Wilpon pitched to Austin Bossart at Penn in 2015…Bradley Wilpon is the son of Jeff Wilpon, Mets’ COO.

        1. Now Romus that is a nice nugget you pulled out there with the Wilpon Kid. Austin is your classic manager or FO prospect.

          I wish him well…

      2. Jon Heyman
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        Austin Bossart played at Penn, same as Bradley Wilpon, Jeff’s son. So Mets may have had some inside info on him.

    2. With all due respect, a 26 year old in his second season of AA hitting .195 is not a major league prospect. No matter how good his defense is.

      Don’t get me wrong. Austin is living the dream. We would all love to play in AA ball and he will have great stories to tell his children, grandchildren and co-workers for the rest of his life. But he is not a major league player. If he gets a cup of coffee, he will have reached his peak profile.

      1. His best case scenario is probably being the next Tuffy Gosewich. More likely the Mets like him for off the field reasons and helping their young pitchers.

      2. Well aren’t you the definitive and final authority on player evaluation. Who else should we just completely give up on right now since it’s so clear who’s going to make it and who isn’t?

    3. Philly.com didn’t say “nothing”, but rather said “practically nothing”. Bossart, who just turned 26 years old, is currently hitting .195 at AA and isn’t in any Top 30 prospects list. The odds of him making the majors for anything other than a cup of coffee, even as a backup catcher, seem rather low. Overall, giving up Bossart for an MLB starting pitcher, even one as mediocre as Vargas, was a very inexpensive price to pay (i.e., practically nothing).

        1. Yes, and elsewhere you said Bosart is “not nothing” (twice). Hence my comment.

    4. Lets be honest, it was basically nothing. Bossart isn’t a prospect, it was practically nothing.

    5. I think your bias toward philly prospects is showing here. He is not on anyone’s radar as a major catcher or backup. He’s 26 and those numbers are not sniffing the majors except as a future coach. I wish him best of luck.

  2. I attended the Reading Fightin’ Phils game in Bowie, MD last night where my attention was on Alec Bohm. I was surprised with his intensity. He ‘stuck’ a bat after popping out in one instance and thew his glove down on the field one play after his error on a slow roller led to 2 runs scoring. I’m not judging; just observing. His flame appears to burn pretty intensely which I prefer to the alternative.

    Standout for the night was ex-Phil Jesmuel Valentin who made a tremendous bare hand play on a slow roller and went the other way with a pitch singling in the Bay Sox first run.

    The Sox’ 3rd base coach got tossed early for protesting balls and strikes. Comical to watch him screaming at the home plate umpire in front of a crowd that couldn’t have been more than 500. In Bowie, the dugout doesn’t connect to the locker room so the game was delayed while the guy was called out of the dugout to take the long walk of shame to the locker room down the right field line. Don’t know what conduct in MiLB is worthy of a fine but this at least came close.

  3. I noticed this morning that Erik Miller is the tenth prospect on the Phillies list. Does this tell me that the Phillies prospects are good or bad?

    2. Phillies prospects are like receiving a nicely wrapped box at Christmas and with all your anticipation, it turns out to be a sweater.

      2. I know that most people will read this and immediately discount it. They will say this prospect group is different than the past…but ask yourself, can you name an example of someone whom the national publications thought was not a great prospect, but turned out to be a great major league player?

        The only one that I can think of is Rhys Hoskins. National scouts were not high on him and he has turned out to be a very, very good hitter. Awful defensively, but he can hit! But over the past decade, I can’t think of anyone else.

        2. @v1 – I would say that many under appreciate Aaron Nola. Even Pete McKannin said that Nola is no better than a #3. Going into the draft, Nola was projected as the typical high floor command artist with Mike Leake ceiling.

          Then Aaron Nola developed an awesome CH and his CB become more wicked and adding additional 2 mph in his FB to boot.

          So publications thought that Aaron Nola being a high floor command artist is a good prospect but turned out to be a great prospect and if I get it correctly the most valued prospect in that 2014 Draft which also includes Hoskins.

          1. Seranthony also has the makings of that. Seranthony was never been ranked high in national publications. I think it is only here and MattWink’s PMT that Seranthony fared better than other blogs and publications.

            Ken Giles is probably the other. Possibly Chooch qualifies as well.

            1. Middle relievers are probably the best examples. National publications never value middle relievers. They only rank position players and starting pitchers.

              However, Seranthony owns a career 1.5 WAR. So not exactly calling him a mlb stud.

              I loves me some Chooch. Was a good mlb role player.

            2. I will not even consider Seranthony’s career WAR since we all know his career is just starting. The low career WAR is mostly related to MLB experience not achievement — this is the reason why i said “the makings of”….it denotes potential.

              I don’t think Seranthony and Giles are middle relievers. Even in this site we talk about Seranthony as a #3 or high leverage power arm and Giles as a closer potential.

              Since you love them WAR, how’s Chooch’s career WAR (now we can properly use this since he’s retired) relate to the other good MLB role player?

            4. @v1 – thanks! I’m not really a fan of the WAR thing because it gives faulty impression. I struggled to call Rhys as a Role Player since he made the big leagues and Gerrit Cole is once considered a scrub at some point this year because the WAR is <1 and so on.

              Chooch might be beyond the time where I can remember how the national publications view him as a prospect. I just thought that Chooch significantly exceeded his prospect projection as well.

            1. Now you are twisting it a little. You said national publications (with a “s”) and now it’s just Keith Law and even that, Keith Law did not say that Aaron Nola is a great prospect. The fact that Aaron Nola was almost universally thought of as a high floor, low ceiling, #3 said a lot. Even in this site, Aaron Nola was sometimes vilified as a back end starter.

              National publications normally tag pitching prospects are great prospect if they project to be TORs. No national publications believe that Aaron Nola was TOR material and CY material until his break out in 2018 when Aaron Nola develop a plus CH that increases his K rate.

              I’m pretty sure that even the great Keith Law did not see that plus CH coming. And now, Aaron Nola is throwing 94-95 in multiple occasions. Let’s just accept the fact that everybody under valued Aaron Nola. Period.

            2. That is not what I originally said. What I said was, can you think of an example where national publications thought someone would not be a quality major leaguer and they turned out to be a great major leaguer. Keith Law ranked him #38 and BA #12 overall. Agree that he has exceeded those expectations. But they both considered him a quality MLB starting pitching prospect.

            3. No, I think it’s pretty safe to say that Aaron Nola exceeded his original projections by quite a large margin. Nobody ever suggested when he was coming out of college that he could be an ace. The projection was as a nice, middle-rotation starter and perhaps a 2. That’s at least what I recalled and I was bummed about his selection until I actually saw him pitch and realized that he had quite a bit of potential.

            4. Catch – It is indisputable that Nola over achieved his expected value. No one is arguing against that. But he was a highly ranked prospect, a top 10 draft pick and all expectations were that he was going to be a quality MLB starting pitcher.

              My question was, can you think of an example of a Phillies prospect whom the national scouts were down on and said will NOT be a great MLB player, but turned out to be a great MLB player? Or even a highly productive one?

            5. OK, I did not see the BA part. It’s hard to use the ranking because it depends on the timing when Aaron Nola was ranked. Actual scouting reports are better since it shows the basis of their evaluation. And I’m certain that nobody thinks that Aaron Nola is TOR.

              I read some BA reports about Nola before and they are consistent with what most are saying, he’s a Mike Leake fast tracker but safe high floor SP that’s not a TOR.

            6. So, I just perused all of BA’s scouting reports and the only mention I can find to being a number 3 pitcher is that he will be able to come up and immediately that on the role of number 3 starter.

              BA: “In his two months with the Phillies, he appeared ready to assume a mid-rotation role for the near future.”

              I didn’t find a single BA report that mentioned him as a mid-rotation ceiling picher.

              Most places I come across list him as a number 2 upside with some stuff improvement and the ability to miss more bats. I would say that right now, depending on how you define “number 1”, he is either a number 1 (If you think there are 20 number 1’s in the league) or a number 2 (If you think there are 10 number 1’s in the league).

            7. There are probably a lot of them – anyone drafted below the 5th or 6th round likely had very little buzz and not much written about them. I doubt, for example, that anyone saw Mike Pizza as anything but an org catcher coming out of college.

            10. Well, sure, AFTER he blossomed in the farm system they thought he was great, but I thought we were talking about how guys were rated when they were drafted. What’s the relevant measuring time in question? When they were drafted or before they were promoted?

            11. But if you want a more recent example, Jacob DeGrom was not considered to be anything special when he was promoted and if you look hard, you’ll find a bunch of guys who blossomed in the majors. Matt Holliday was another – he was just another guy as a prospect, then hit better in the majors than he ever had before.

        3. not saying he’s great but Jeff McNeil with a .333 career average- 12th round pick- dont see him in Mets top 30 in 2017 before debuting in 2018.

      3. Or one of those gag gift pieces of clothing that is really funny for like 5 seconds after you open the box until you think to yourself “wait a minute, I can’t ever wear THIS.”

    3. Miller is a big lefty with a good arm so there’s some ceiling there but no, it doesn’t say a lot for the system for him to be tenth. He didn’t dominate in college and is unproven in the pros.

      1. Miller is working on some pitching mechanics at the direction of the Phillies coaching staff that once perfected will move him through the organization quickly.. He has a BIG left-arm that easily hits mid-90’s that he told Stanford media he never pushes past 90%. He’s on the college protocol this summer due to throwing nearly 83 innings at Stanford. I would guess at the Phillies 2020′ spring training he’ll get a long look for where he goes in 2020..

      1. Agree. I also said a similar posted yesterday that Erik Miller is actually a Rd 2 talent so he is a steal as a 4th rounder. Physical size and potential 2 plus pitch easily projects him as #2/#3 — Erik MIller is my #10 and second best LHP prospect behind Damon Jones who is #9.

        1. I haven’t watched Miller, but I have watched Jones. Jones definitely has some potential, but he also has some real challenges too with command and consistency. He could improve and be a nice 3/4 in the big leagues, he could end up as a 7th inning guy or a AAAA starter. It’s totally unknown.

          It sounds like Miller has a higher floor and ceiling than Jones.

          1. @catch – I always though that Damon Jones has bullpen written all over him. But his K rate and GB% are very good to elite. If Damon Jones can really get a good handle of his command and if he can develop a workable 3rd pitch behind the FB-SL — he can be awesome – like #2/#3 SP awesome.

            1. I don’t doubt that he has the raw stuff to be a 2/3, but like VV, his command (even control) is such that he’s not close to that now and on top of that his breaking stuff is very inconsistent. I’m not down on him at all, he just has a lot of work to do.

            2. If Jones cannot significantly fix that command issues, he will be bullpen bound (still not bad for a Rd 18 flyer) and that end being his ultimate role (which is consistent to his original projection). And at 24, time is running out.

              Unlike Jones, Miller is only 21 so he has the time to improve his control and develop a workable 3rd pitch. It will be really nice if Erik Miller develops into a LH version of Spencer Howard.

          2. No way Miller has a higher floor, since we can’t be too confident that he’ll even make it to AAA as a starter.

            I do think it’s a good comp though. They have similar strengths and weaknesses but Miller has time on his side.

            1. Fair enough on the floor comment given that one is in first season ball and the other is in AAA. Still I don’t believe that Jones has a higher ceiling, even though I’ve been one of his biggest supporters.

            2. I would agree. Maybe Miller will find some command and a change up. That would kind of make him a more well rounded version of Jones.

            3. Miller was ranked 7th best LHP in the draft (MLB.com)…his FB (60) and Slider (60) were right there with Cronin and Stinson…who were both rated below him .

  4. Hall finally showing improvement in his determined change to his hitting approach….slowly turning around his peripherals….K rate trickled down now to 22% and BB rate ticking up to 11%

      1. Maybe…though Hall’s biggest liability….is his defensive position.
        Playing just first base means few opportunities….and he gets by at first, but he isn’t Keith Hernandez down there

        1. I like a successful Phil’s prospect as much as the next person, and was nice to see Hall on the BA top 20, but if you look at his home and away splits you can see he’s really reaping the benefit of the Reading stadium. Not pretty away numbers.

          1. Yeah..see that, gets pitched differently I assume with more HBP and a lower %BB, and
            strangely he seems to hit lefties better than a normal LHB.

  5. Tyler Gilbert is someone who seems to be always effective, has moved up thru the system but is never talked about here. Why?? Is he just a loogy??? Or will he make the shoe??

    1. I assume you meant SHOW and not shoe but I see what you’re talking about. Statistically, he looks very very good. A 2.01 ERA in 22 games and 31.1 IP. with 24 hits, 27 Ks to 7 BBs. He looks like a solid lefty. I don’t know what he throws nor how he throws it but last year’s numbers look very similar. He gets lefties and righties out equally well. He has been on the IL twice this year so they may be trying to work him back into shape.

    2. RPs that do not project as high leverage or closer type normally don’t get high grades or talked about as prospects. “Failed SP” normally falls into this bucket. Rios and Davis made the Phillies with nobody talking about them even better prospects like Edgar Garcia, Edubray Ramos and JD Hammer got to the Phillies with less noise.

      1. I would welcome him up here to play 3b in a heartbeat. Yes, a WC spot is within range but I’d rather spend the rest of the summer on players who might…just might…turn out to be our Max Muncy.

  7. DJ Jefferson, 6’5″ 18 yo UDFA throwing 92 mph with smooth release. I don’t normally see an UDFA HS kid. DJJ can be an intriguing name to follow.

  8. Just want to say that Austin Bossart is really gonna be personally missed by my son-(because he is his favorite receiver when he threw which is gonna hurt but also 1 of his best friends and also his wife was very nice to my son).. I personally think Austin is an excellent catcher but an even better person. Just a really good guy in and outside of baseball. New place for him could be what he needs to move up. Hope so. Good Luck

    1. When Bradley Wilpon finally decides to follow his grandfather and father into the Mets hierarchy….his buddy Bossart should be looking to get into the Met org somewhere…on the field in coaching, or in the management arena.
      Right now it would be natural for him to want to be playing on the field….but in 2/3 years things could change.
      Look at Matt Hockenberry in LKW now as the PC.at 27- years old.

    2. Thanks for this feedback on Bossart. I feel like others had made other positive comments about him too – as a person and a catcher. I’m sorry your son will miss him; I hope they end up facing each other in the majors some day.

    3. With his baseball instincts is he a future coach when his playing career is over?

  9. Jones’ pitching line today isn’t horrible but underwhelming all the same. I assume he hasn’t yet mastered a grip on that ball. Anyone witness his performance?

  10. KK, DJ Jefferson isn’t an typical undrafted kid.A year before the draft he was being talked about as a first-rounder:

    https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2779712-2019-mlb-mock-draft-early-predictions-for-top-1st-round-baseball-prospects

    I’ve seen him play multiple times in high school. He has a prototypical pitcher’s frame.

    OTOH, the reason he dropped, IMO, is that he was topping out at 93 after sophomore year in high school (see https://www.perfectgame.org/Players/Playerprofile.aspx?ID=440501) and hasn’t progressed since then.

    Good signing by the Phillies and hopefully their play development reps can advance him.

  11. v1, I am not arguing WAR or how Fangraphs values players. I just read an earlier post, and whatever ranking we use, Chooch was much more valuable to our successful run than what I would call a “role player”. Wouldn’t you agree?

    1. matt13…the irony of it…Chooch’s worst year was the 2008 WS winning year, then the he went on his roll until 2015 his age36 season..

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